My 2011 Poetry Out Loud experience - as a judge!!

As some of you may know, I participated in Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest. The nation-wide competition for high schoolers begins on the classroom level, then goes on to the school-wide, regional, state, and finally national levels. In 2007, when I was a sophomore in high school, I won the Pennsylvania state championship. It was an incredible blessing - nationals in D.C. was a dream.

That was four years ago. Last month, I was invited by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts to be a judge at the 2011 state finals. I was shocked and honored - and of course I took them up on the offer! The March 14th competition even coincided with the first day of my spring break - it was really meant to be. You can read the PA Council on the Arts' press release here - I'm mentioned in the article! Above are some pictures from the Governor's residence, where the event took place.

Judging my near-peers was certainly an experience, especially since they were in the exact same position that I was in my first three years of high school! I have to say that it was quite strange to be on the "other side", for once - it was very nice to not have to worry about remembering lines, and to just enjoy the show. :)

Some Satoshi Kon lovin'

I recently saw the Japanese animator and film director's Paprika, and I really, really liked it. I didn't love it - but it was good, and the animation was some of the best 2-D animation I'd ever seen.

Just watched an older film of his, Millenium Actress, today.

Um, I LOVED that.

In fact, by the end of the film, I had been reduced to a small, pathetic, blubbering puddle of goo.

asdfjkl;Satoshi Kon. I can't believe that he's gone now, and that we won't be getting any more of these amazing works of art. :(

ALSO.

Probably unawares, Kon was basically presenting C. S. Lewis' theories on Sehnsucht in this film...

"After all, it's the chasing after him I really love..."

Go. Watch. Now.

On my Christmas break bookshelf

It always breaks my heart to observe how little reading I get done during each school semester (I mean, reading outside of my classes). Hurray for a return to reading for one's self!!

What I'm munching on right now:

The Power and the Glory by Graham Green

A collection by Flannery O'Connor including Wise Blood, The Violent Bear it Away, and Everything That Rises Must Converge

That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis

The Story of a Soul by Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

So yeah, a bunch of Catholic giants...and then Lewis. But hey, Lewis was about as Catholic as a Protestant can get, after all ;)

I just found

an ENTIRE WEBSITE devoted to the story of Cupid and Psyche in art.

I'm going to have to investigate this further... :)

By the way, the image in my header is none other than Edward Burne-Jones' Cupid Finding Psyche, from his cycle devoted to the ancient Greek myth!

My book of poetry available for purchase!

I've finally published my book, The Soul Sings. It is available here. Please consider helping out a young artist who needs college funds desperately!

Thank you all for all your love and support.

Olivia

An update on my book-to-be

3/15/11 UPDATE: yesterday, my mom sent an email to Mr. Mark Shea over at Catholic and Enjoying It!, telling him about my book and asking him if he might have the time to post a little blurb about it on his blog! Well, he did, and I'm so grateful/excited!! If you are one of Mr. Shea's blog readers, thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and check out my book! Your interest in my work and your prayers are greatly appreciated. :)

Mark Shea is a well-known Catholic writer and speaker, and his blog covers everything from politics to literature to film to humor to moral issues, and much more, all from a Catholic perspective! Check him out!

***

So, in case you haven't already heard, I'm planning to (soon!) release my first book via lulu.com, a self-publishing site. It'll be a small collection of poetry that I've written over the past few years, and will be titled The Soul Sings. Prayers would be greatly appreciated – both for this book actually coming to fruition, and for it to sell once it's ready to go!

Here is the tentative table of contents. A few of these I've already posted on Splendid and Delicious.

The pieces which I still need to tweak/complete are The Girl From the Nursery, Crowned, Lock Them in the Closet, and The Young Man and His Teeth. If, by the end of July, I have not yet completed these pieces, I will cut what is unfinished from the manuscript. Of course, I'm shooting for all of the below being included!


PROLOGUE: Mourning Doves

I. THE SOUL SINGS OF OTHER SOULS

Summer
Mother to Child
The Girl From the Nursery
Mary, Mary

II. THE SOUL SINGS OF THAT FROM WHICH IT CAME

The Pelican
Crowned
You Say; I Say
Falling
Odysseus

III. THE SOUL SINGS, IN SPITE OF THE DARKNESS

The New Tantalus
Lock Them in the Closet
Song Before Daybreak
Vigil
The Young Man and His Teeth


So...stay tuned! :)

Five things I've seen so far this year that made me really happy

Listening to: "This Is My House, This Is My Home" by We Were Promised Jetpacks

1. Black Narcissus (1947)



I remember that I was walking through my grandmother's room, and she just happened to be watching this film. I came in during a low-key point in the movie; not alot of "action", per se, was happening. Nonetheless, I was entirely sucked in. The colors and sets were so rich; the interactions between characters so subtle and compelling. It's really not the kind of film that can be acknowledged and dismissed with just a glance at the screen. I'm actually planning a little reflective post on Black Narcissus all by itself - stay tuned!

2. 3-Iron (2004).



This film is, quite simply, a work of art. It's incredibly unusual, unusually haunting, and, incidentally, really quite dark. (I've read some reviews in which viewers commented that they loved the film's light, airy tone...I'm not sure which movie they were watching). Nonetheless, it's absolutely gorgeous. Silence reigns during most of it - of our two protagonists, the heroine speaks a few words close to the end; the hero does not open his mouth once during the course of the entire film.

3. Diva (1982)



I watched it on my mom's recommendation, and boy, am I glad that I did! What an interesting jumble of twists and turns, what a delightfully motley cast of characters; what, what gorgeous music.

4. Once (2006)



Over the past few years, I'd heard so many mediocre reviews of the movie that I more or less decided that I would never bother see it. A friend had given me a copy of the soundtrack, which is incredible - but according to so many people, the film itself falls short in comparison. Hey - I, for one, absolutely loved the movie. I mean, it's obviously not supposed to be super-exciting; its charm lies in its simplicity. I loved the idea of two young songwriters encountering one another, and influencing each other for a short time before going their separate ways.

5. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)



I just watched this with my little brother the other night. How refreshing it is to see an animated film made using "by hand" animation - as opposed to all of the computer-generated features produced today (not to put those down; I adore Disney/Pixar)! Plus, I thought it was funny as anything. "What the cuss??" :D